Michael Kownacky

Albert Lortzing is probably best known for his opera “Zar und Zimmermann,” so we’ll be showcasing two others on this week’s Sunday Opera (3/8 3:00 p.m.): "Der Wildschutz" and "Der Opernprobe."

So much is being said about cross-dressing and drag now that we thought we’d take a look at how musicals have looked at this aspect of theatre on this week’s Dress Circle (4/16 7:00 p.m.). Men portraying women on stage were a major part of Greek and Roman theatre as well as early European theatre mainly because women weren’t allowed to appear on stage. However, once that taboo was overturned, women often portrayed men, especially in operas and British Pantomimes.

Welcome to March! Will it be windy? …rainy? …snowy? Well, on this week’s Dress Circle (3/1 7:00 p.m.), we know it’s going to be musical as we look at ten shows that opened in New York this month through their overtures and scene-setting opening numbers.

Some composers, like Paul Dukas, are best known for one or two specific works, and on this week’s Sunday Opera (2/22 3:00 p.m.), we’re going to change that when we look at his only surviving opera “Ariane et Barbe-Bleue.” The extremely self-deprecating Dukas destroyed his other three operas, so we’re lucky to have this delightful version of the Charles Perrault fairytale.

We’re heading towards the end of February, but before heading into March, we wanted to honor Black History Month, so that’s what will be on tap on this week’s Dress Circle (2/22 7:00 p.m.). We’ve got thirteen musicals that feature casts that are predominantly or entirely black.

What were you doing when you were 14?If you were Mozart, you were working on a three act opera titled “Mitridate re di Ponto” which is our featured work on this week’s Sunday Opera (2/15 3:00 p.m.) in a recording from 2014.

We’re celebrating a birthday on this week’s Dress Circle (2/15 7:00 p.m.).Actually, we’re celebrating two birthdays. This week’s program begins our 43rd year as volunteer hosts of the Dress Circle, a fact of which we’re extremely proud. Since that, in itself, isn’t very musical, we’re also going to be celebrating the 121st birthday of Hyman Arluck who is better known as the fabulous composer of musicals and film songs, Harold Arlen.

for this week’s program (2/8 3:00 p.m.), we’re heading back to the 18th century for an opera that takes place around the 12th century BC in Christoph Willibald Gluck’s “Demonfoonte” or “Demofonte” or a variety of other titles. Based on a very popular libretto by Pietro Metastasio, the opera had its premier in Milan in 1743. The story is set in ancient Thrace during a “legendary and mythical” time.

Once again, we’re getting ready for Valentine’s Day on this week’s Dress Circle (2/8 7:00 p.m.), and even if you don’t have a Valentine per se, you should really treat yourself by tuning in this week for “Non Love Love Songs” for the day that you make as special as you want. These are “Non-Love Love Songs” because they aren’t the usual “Moon – June – Spoon – I love you songs” one generally expects at this time. These, sometimes in a rather sneaky manner, hint or imply love and possible happy endings.

We turn to England for this week’s Sunday Opera (2/1 3:00 p.m.) for the only full-length opera by Sir William Walton, his 1954 treatment of a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer about the doomed love of “Troilus and Cressida." This recording from Opera North features a roster of some of the best-loved voices in British opera.